Thursday, February 13, 2025

Rhyl taxi driver ‘finding it hard to survive’ after Google business page error

Must read

Christopher Campbell, 47, who owns Rhyl Cabs Ltd, said he was informed via email in the early hours of February 1 that his profile had been disabled.

It was the second time this has happened to Christopher, who previously spent three months last summer trying to resolve the same issue.

Last week, the Journal reported how two other men from Rhyl had encountered the same issue, and feared they had lost business as a result.

Google confirmed to the Journal this morning (February 10) that Rhyl Cabs’ business profile has now been restored.

Christopher said he was “finding it hard (for his business) to survive” without its presence on Google.

He said: “In the past, there have been issues with Google, where we’ve been removed, disabled or restricted.

“The last time it happened, in June 2024, it took three months to get back on – we had been removed for ‘deceptive comment’.

“But at about 1.30am on February 1 I received an email saying my business profile has been disabled; I appealed it straight away, but for days, nothing happened. It was like it didn’t exist.

“I had one of my drivers move to another firm last week, because he said he can’t afford to go another weekend where the phone doesn’t ring.

“In this day and age, 65-70 per cent of our irregular hours work comes through Google. It’s our main outlet for work.”

Christopher believes the three-month wait last summer for his business profile to re-appear cost him at least £15,000 in missed calls.

While he was pleased and relieved to learn that Google has now fixed the problem, he remains frustrated at how long it has taken to fix.

He added: “It’s the impact of how long it takes to get it back.

“My biggest issue is that it just suddenly takes you off Google, and then you have to jump through all of these hoops.

“It’s such a vital part of anyone’s business now.”

Latest article